European University Institute Library

Prisoner of the infidels, the memoir of an Ottoman Muslim in seventeenth-century Europe, Osman of Timişoara; edited, translated, and introduced by Giancarlo Casale

eng

index present

non fiction

Prisoner of the infidels

1226075996

Osman of Timişoara; edited, translated, and introduced by Giancarlo Casale

the memoir of an Ottoman Muslim in seventeenth-century Europe

"In 1688, five years after the failed Ottoman siege of Vienna, a young Muslim soldier surrendered to the Austrian army and became a prisoner of war. Osman of Timişoara would spend the next twelve years in captivity, at first under the cruelest and most inhuman conditions, and later in relative comfort as a servant of one of Vienna's most elite aristocratic families. Decades later, as an old man in Istanbul, Osman would write an account of his experiences. A historical source of unparalleled richness, a swashbuckling adventure story, and a moving literary meditation on selfhood, bondage, and the impossibility of returning home, Prisoner of the Infidels is a foundational text for Ottoman cultural history. This major milestone of Turkish literature is finally available to English-speaking readers for the first time"--, Provided by publisher

Introduction: on being Osman -- Discovering Osman: a short history of the text -- A note on translation -- A note on transcription from Ottoman Turkish -- Surrender -- Ransom -- Crime and punishment -- Death and resurrection -- Respite -- Bonds of love -- To the capital -- A friend in need -- An unexpected turn of events -- Trouble on the Danube -- Grifters -- Border run -- The end -- Appendix: main characters in Osman's narrative